16 March 2012

When it comes to judges in Cook County I could offer you the time-honored tradition of just voting NO to every last one of them, but out of fairness there are a few that should stay on the bench. They represent the 5% that operate out of knowledge, integrity and take the side of the law, not the criminal.

Most however are idiots who deride law enforcement. Many are political hacks with connections to the Magic Kingdom, or Madiganistan. Remember Cynthia Brim? I'm told that the "issues" with Judge Cynthia Brim were known about for many months and yet nothing was done to pull her from the bench. The Illinois courts have little oversight, no restraint and no accountability. There are many "Brims" sitting on the courts, and the only way to get them out is to get informed and vote NO to these despicable cretins.

You will remember that back in January of 2012 John Kass wrote a piece about Dan Degnan, according to Kass "the son of Tim Degnan, Daley's political hammer". ("It's easy to judge why this inexperienced lawyer will get on the bench" January 20, 2012)

Read the article and it tells you everything you need to know about what really goes on in the court system in Illinois.

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So without further adieu, let's look at the worst of the worst: Judge Mary Jane Theis. While she gets a "highly qualified" rating from the Illinois Bar, and an endorsement by the Tribune, don't believe the hype. What Theis doesn't want you to know is that she is a political flunky, and a divisive faction on the Illinois Supreme court. She lied about her background, she is imperious, condescending and has a superficial understanding of the law, courtroom procedures and decorum.

She cast the deciding vote in allowing Rahm Emanuel to remain on the mayoral ballot when his residency was called into question. What she never disclosed is that she has a relationship with Emanuel. She lives across the street from Rahm Emanuel, and her son either worked, or is working, for his campaign. She should have recused herself but she saw an opportunity to feather her own nest and put herself in a position to benefit should Rahm win the election. And - Voila! Here we are. Yet, Theis complained that Justice Burke should have recused herself from the Emmanuel decision because Burke's husband, the alderman , was supporting Chico. How ironic that it was Burke and Freeman who actually analyzed the issue in that case and wrote an opinion that put the majority opinion to shame. While these two justices agreed with the majority, they actually wrote an opinion that displayed some legal accumen. My connections on the courts tell me that Justices Burke and Freeman don't get along with Theis and secretly hope she gets knocked out by Pucinski.

She was appointed by Fitzgerald a year ago and is nothing more than a shill for the Demcocrat party. In fact, Progress Illinois says,"The Cook County Democratic Party also backs Theis and in her campaign commercials Theis dubs herself, “The Democrat for Supreme Court.”

From the ProgressIllinois website: "Emanuel called Theis the “Swing vote” on the court. That’s a questionable quip, since Theis was part of the court’s unanimous decision last year that found Emanuel to be a Chicago resident and, therefore, eligible to run for mayor." You'll also be shocked to learn that Theis has raised $1.1 million so far, compared to Pucinski's paltry $30,000. Hmmmmm ... I wonder where Theis got all those donations? Surely from hard-working "Middle Class" grandmothers in Canaryville, and not from Emanual's hand-picked Union Donation Squad. Even the left-leaning Illinois Committee for Honest Government says that Theis is "too beholden to politicans." She uses the endorsements of special interest groups in her advertisements. One example is Planned Parenthood. Citing this organization as a supporter of her candidacy sends the message that she might rule favorably in a case that is likely to appear before the Supreme Court where there are pro-choice and right to life issues. In my opinion, this is utterly inappropriate.

Vote NO for Mary Jane Theis.

(While we're on the topic of the Illinois Supreme Court, it is in shambles. It is in shambles primarily because of Theis and her shenanigans. Justice Evans has been trying to pull the group together and clean up the mess but Theis is standing in everyone's way. Theis aside, my sources tell me that many of the other justices don't
even show up for work, they're ignorant of the law, they have no limits, they are like kids wearing crowns on their heads, have a penchant for temper tantrums, petulant, abusive and disrespectful. The two good ones on the court are Burke and Freeman.)

Another one of the worst is Lorna E. Propes. She is running to keep her seat on the 7th Judicial Court. Here is Propes in a photo with her bestie Lisa Madigan.

Ms. Propes garnered the Second Worse spot on my informal survey. Her shortcomings: I'm told that she is ignorant of the law, ignorant of procedures, frequently makes mistakes in the courtroom and then blames the attorneys, and is imperious and condescending. Of course, like the good little political hack that she is, she's intent on using her own prejudices to enforce the law. Check out this interview in which she brags how she's going to rule in favor of Gay Marriage, Hate Crimes and civil unions. I'm told that Propes has no business adjudicating cases because she's utterly incompetent.

The honor of the Third Worse Judge in Cook County belongs to Judge Laura Cha-yu Liu. I blogged about her back in December. She is running unopposed for the 8th Sub-circuit.

She was allegedly diagnosed with cancer and has been on medical leave for quite a while. That, however, doesn't stop her from coming down to the courts, and yucking it up with some of her pals. She's not bed-ridden, is still on the public payroll. Other judges on her circuit are upset because they are carrying her case load. For all appearances she looks fine and capable of doing her job but she's more interested in milking her situation and not doing what she was appointed to do.

How does she continue to get away with this? She is none other than the wife of Michael J. Kasper - Michael Madigan's "favorite attorney". Kasper also represented Emanuel during his residency challenge. According to the website for Kasper's law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Mr. Kasper has represented "Congressional Representatives Rahm Emanuel, Daniel Lipinski, Bill Foster, Phil Hare, William O. Lipinski, Bobby Rush and Jan Schakowsky." That's quite a resume, and not surprising that his wife gets special favors, and a judgeship to boot. It's also no wonder how she got appointed to a seat with no opponent.
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A great piece of investigative work that relates to Cook County judges and their collective ineptness can be found at Judicial Hellholes. It highlights some of the more egregious cases that our idiotic judges have decided in the last 12 months. It you have time it is worth the read. You'll learn some fun facts; like how a man named Dominic Choate made $3.9 million in a lawsuit against a railroad because the man's "jack ass" style trick cost him his leg.

Illinois is in the mess that it is in because of an apathetic voting base. Illinois voters continue to just punch the names that are followed by the "D" ... that's how we continue to get people like George Ryan, Mike Madigan, Rod Blagovich, Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama.